Stay at Home Order Issued for Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Governor Tim Walz
issued a Stay at Home Order today which asks residents to stay at home except
for essential activities in order to slow the spread of coronavirus. This order
will go in effect at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 27 and last until 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 10. In response, Senator
Karla Bigham (DFL-Cottage Grove) released the following statement:

“This order by Governor Walz is a
necessary step to address the unprecedented challenge the spread of the
coronavirus presents to Minnesota,” said Senator Bigham. “While Minnesotans
have largely been adhering to social distancing and following the Department of
Health guidelines, today’s order was necessary to ensure we are doing our part
to flatten the curve and buy time to build out our public health care capacity.
This was not a decision taken lightly, but we must be doing everything we can
to protect the health and safety of Minnesotans.”

According
to projections from the Department of Health, without strong mitigation
efforts, up to 75,000 Minnesotans could die from COVID-19. Today’s actions
would provide more time for the state to build up its ICU capacity and receive
more personal protective equipment for frontline health care workers.

The
Governor also extended the closure of bars, restaurants, and other public
gathering spaces until Friday, May 1 and has authorized the Commissioner of
Education to implement a Distance Learning Period beginning on Monday, March 30
until Monday May 4.